Toyota Sera 1992

The Toyota Sera was a small sports car built by Toyota solely for the Japanese market in the early 1990s, though enthusiasts in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the UK have since imported a handful of them. It was initially revealed as the Toyota AXV-II concept car in 1988, and was shown in almost production-ready form. The car is related to the Toyota Paseo, and shares similar floorpans, suspension, steering and brakes. Its most distinctive feature is its butterfly doors, which open forward and up from the bottom and top of the A pillar (similar to the McLaren F1). The weight of the door is reduced by a thick gas spring (gas strut), but there is a balance system to help take into account changes in temperature inside the door. The door can be opened fully in a fairly confined space - 43cm clearance on either side of the car, unlike the conventional doors on most cars. Toyota Sera was one of the first cars to feature projector headlights (the AXV-II concept featured conventional lights).